The House Crow (Corvus splendens) in the image below shows it catching an insect on the wing. Whether it was actually perching nearby and sallied forth when the insect passed by, in which case the behaviour is known as hawking, was not observed. Birds also glean insects when they are perching, taking insects from a nearby branch or trunk. They also snatch insects from the ground.
Crows take both animal and vegetable foods. Animal food includes beetles, butterflies and moths, flies, grasshoppers, bugs, spiders, earthworms, etc. In fact, House Crows eat almost anything. They are scavengers, in Singapore anyway, if not in other countries as well. They are also opportunist feeders.
Earlier posts reported House Crows feeding on bat, most probably a Common Fruit Bat (Cynopterus brachyotis); rat; toad; and fish. They are well known nest robbers, stealing birds’ eggs and chicks.
Melinda & Chan Yoke Meng
Singapore
16th January 2019
2 Responses
In Kerala, South India, the house crow hawks winged termites when they swarm in large numbers and is rarely seen as a general feeding habit. Some of the other species that also opportunistically hawk winged termite swarms include the bee eater, golden-backed woodpecker and oriental magpie. The other species that take advantage of termite swarms are drongos since they forage even during dusk time when termite swarms generally occur.
Thanks for the note. Most interesting.